Williamstown Book Sale Offers Thousands of Selections
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Ginny Sheldon, left, and Susan Pike, co-chairs of this year's book sale, looke through their task list. Some 25,000 sorted books were ready to set out for sale. |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Friends of the Williamstown Library are breaking down its annual book sale by the numbers:
- 25,000 tomes
- 147 hours of research
- 1,000 hours of sorting
- 42 categories
- 1.3 moving vans
- 25 annual book sales
Virginia "Ginny" Sheldon, one of this year's co-chairs, isn't quite sure what the total volunteer hours will be yet but she knows they'll be high once the two-day sale concludes on Saturday. But all that labor's for a very good cause: The David and Joyce Milne Public Library.
"It's important for us to do this," she said on Tuesday. "This library is a resource for every person in the community. ... Milne is a true community resource."
The Friends have been putting out books for sale for decades to raise some cash but the annual sale has grown to become a major fundraiser over the past 25 years, making up to 50 to 60 percent of the group's yearly revenue. Last year's sale brought in more than $24,000; its supplemented by membership drives and the sale of books throughout the year at the library.
That money goes to support summer programming, children's activities and needs the librarian may request.
Sheldon, who is totaling up statistics on the sale as part of book sale history she's working on, and co-Chairwoman Susan Pike, said the sale began 25 years ago as the once popular Smith College Book Sale disappeared.
The "Seven Sisters" alumnae held book sales all over New England; one for Smith's was run in Williamstown for many years.
"There were fewer and fewer of these and as that folded, the Friends got on a roll," said Pike.
It started in a tent because there was no room when the library was located in the Botsford House. The house was built by the town's library founder and purchased in 1941 and donated for use as a library by E. Herbert Botsford. In 1997, the library and house of history moved into its current location at the former Pine Cobble School.
The sale gradually outgrew that building and 10 years ago moved to the Williamstown Elementary School, providing more room for the sale's two other compenents: the silent auction and the Friend's Cafe.
The silent auction offers some of the best books in the sale — rare books, signed editions, arts books, pictorials and the unusual.
Jytte Brooks has been organizing the auction for years and, this year, with Linda Conway, has put in 147 hours researching the items. (Check out some of this year's choice selections.)
"We just take whatever comes in," said Sheldon. "Our sorting crews know what to look for."
The sorting crews, coordinated by Melissa Segalla, spend hours going through donated books, checking their condition, keeping an eye out for the extraordinary, and pricing and sorting the rest into one of 42 categories. Each sorted box is marked with its category number; at sale time, they're loaded on to a moving van and taken to the elementary school gym to be unpacked and placed on the appropriate tables with prices ranging from 50 cents to $3.
While some are dropping off books throughout the year, others are baking in the days leading up to the sale. More than 100 bakers are providing cookies, cake, brownies and assorted goodies to sell in the Friend's Cafe, often called Josie's after longtime organizer Josie Eusden.Dr. Michael Sussman's taken over as head chef for the cafe, which serves more than baked goods, coffee and tea. Sussman said the best-selling dishes are macaroni and cheese, quiche and soups. Along with the baked donations, the cafe is supported by Tunnel City Coffee, Wild Oats Market, Price Chopper, Target, Stop & Shop and Sand Springs Water.
New this year will be the acceptance of credit cards. That's not the only digital change: the book sale has added a raffle for an iPad2 through donations from local businesses. Tickets are $2 or two for $3. They can be purchased at the library or the sale; the drawing will be Saturday afternoon.
Putting on the sale is an exercise in logistics, taking a year of planning, so far uncounted hours of work before, during and after the sale, and a small army of volunteers, including some help from the Williams College football and cross country teams.
Football player Ryan Barry of Longmeadow had been working since 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday loading and then unloading a Connors Bros. moving van.
"We do a lot of community service," he said, hauling boxes of books to tables. "We have the physical capbility, why not?"
Pike and Sheldon are hoping to get more younger people involved in the sale.
"We're really lucky, the people we have are great," said Pike. "But every organization needs a new infusion."
The book sale, cafe and silent auction run this Friday and Saturday, April 19-20, at the Williamstown Elementary School, 115 Church St. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.
Tags: book sale, books, Milne Library,
